Rock of Gibraltar

Coming into Gibraltar during a rainy evening. The crew hastily prepares for the dock, ties up the yacht, then finally looks around. We are moored in front of the Rock of Gibraltar, and the rain cloud has formed a rainbow over the top of the rock! Its the last light of the night, we are cleared in quickly, and then changed as fast as we can into street clothes to see the town. Our group walks down the quay, and notices the boats, and the lights of the casino at the end of our dock. Stopping at the end of the dock, each one of us is looking down the street both ways and trying to decide which direction to take, some sailors walk by us and direct us to the square in the old city.
A short walk leads us through the massive gated walls, and into the heart of the old city. We enter an English pub called Alls Well. Its karaoke night, and a small crowd of Gibraltarians is taking turns singing songs ranging from Guns and Roses to Billy Joel, plus some American oldies that I didn't know. We have some shots and drinks, the ocean crossing is behind us and I am celebrating my first hour in Europe. Three of my group of seven leave and head back to the yacht. Leaving Alls Well, the group (now four of us) continue down the old streets, looking into the windows of shops and searching for a pub with a kitchen still open. A bartender offers a tip about where some great Indian take-away is, and we find the restaurant without any difficulty. The food tastes as amazing as it smells, and after filling up there is still enough to take some back to the boat.
The next day is dedicated to fueling the yacht, and the crew splits into two groups to take tours of the Rock during the day. Our driver, Douglas, picks us up at the fuel dock and shuttles us through Gibraltars narrow and winding streets to the Rock. Along the drive, he gives us some history and back ground about the territory. Gibraltar is currently a self governed city-state, and Douglas shows his bitterness at Spain for continually trying to take possession. The driver also points out areas where Spain is enforcing restrictions and regulations on the population of Gibraltar that the Spaniards themselves do not comply with.
The airport runway literally separates the city-state from Spain, with the road actually stretching perpendicular across the middle of the runway. Vehicle and pedestrian traffic is stopped when a plane is landing or taking off. I learn that the traffic can back up for up to four hours at the border, and the only fast way to cross the border is on motorcycle, or foot. A new road is being built around the end of the runway, and it is clear to see the new construction happening in many places in Gibraltar. Real estate prices are insanely high in the city, often forcing young adults to move to Spain as they cannot afford the high prices.
The Rock tour started with St. Michaels cave, a massive limestone cavern. The cave is well lighted to show the incredible features and classical music is played to showcase the acoustics. The Stalactites hanging from the ceiling are perfectly shaped, and they lend a fake look to the scene making it look like a Hollywood movie set. There is a plaque near the exit dating to 1954, the year when the HM Queen Elizabeth toured the caves. Our driver, Douglas, advised us that should we return to Gibraltar, the extended cave tour was a worth while activity. Now driving up the road further for views from the top of the rock. The entire area is inhabited by the imported macaque monkeys. Legend says that when the monkeys are gone, Gibraltar is to belong to the Spanish. Story goes that Churchill visited Gibraltar, and upon seeing that the monkey population was down to only 7 monkeys, he ordered more to be imported ensuring that the legend does not come true. Douglas fed the macaque monkeys that he knew peanuts enticing the monkeys to pose for us. The vistas of the bay of Gibraltar and across the Straits to North Africa were excellent that day.
As we headed down the switchback road that winds its way up the rock, the next destination was the tunnel network that the British had built inside the rock for protection from siege. The tunnels were full of magazines and gun embrasiers where cannons were pointed out into the Straits of Gibraltar. The last sight on the road downhill was a Moorish castle. The structure was a tower mostly empty, but interesting as to how long it had stood there and views from the top were good. There was also a WWII area of the rock with its own tunnels and more modern guns, but my group did not see this South facing point of the rock. That was the conclusion of the tour, and we got moving that night after finishing fueling.
The yacht is now making way East between the Southern coast of Sardenia and the Northern coast of Algeria. A couple more days at sea will land us in Athens, Greece!